“Apparently, neither of us were overly interested in planning a wedding or a life. Everything just stayed the same—staid and boring. There was no dramatic breakup, we just sort of... quietly walked away.”
That didn’t fit the picture of the girl he remembered. She was always full of joy and excitement and always up for an adventure. What could have possibly happened to steal that from her?
As if reading his mind, she explained more. “After you left, I sort of... I don’t know... shut down. I thought if I could get through college quickly that I would surprise you out in L.A. But the more I studied, the more there was to do. I was excelling in all of my classes and being offered internships and opportunities that I would have felt guilty turning down.” She paused and placed yet another small kiss on his chest. “I’ve accomplished everything I ever wanted career-wise, but I gave up a lot of myself to make that happen.”
It would probably sound trite for him to go with, “Yeah, me too”, even though he could completely relate to what she was saying. Instead, he thought he’d go another way.
“If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?”
She hummed sleepily. “I’m kind of happy with where I am right now. I wouldn’t mind staying here for the next two weeks.”
“Sienna...”
The sexy little growl she made was adorable. Pushing up again, she looked at him. “Everywhere,” she said quietly. “I go to conferences all over the world, but I never make the time to see anything. I’ve literally been to a dozen different countries and all I saw was the airport and the hotel where the conferences were at. I mean...how pathetic is that?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s pathetic...”
She snorted. “Please, it’s pathetic. You don’t have to pretend otherwise.”
“Okay, but...”
“Several of my colleagues have mentioned how they love to go on cruises. They even invited me once or twice and all I could think of at the time was how unappealing it sounded because it wasn’t some sort of science or research cruise. I thought it would be a waste of time. Ugh...there’s no way you can say that’s not pathetic.”
He wasn’t going to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole.
“Okay,” he replied slowly. “Baby steps. You don’t have to overthink this. Let’s just take it one step at a time. Where would you like to start? What is one place you want to see more than anyplace else?”
“Do you promise not to laugh?”
His lips twitched, but he nodded.
“Graceland.”
“Wait... seriously? You want to go to Memphis and visit Elvis Presley’s home?”
She nodded. “I’ve always loved his music.”
“Oh, I remember,” he said with a small laugh. “I thought it was just a phase.”
“Nope,” Sienna replied firmly. “Still love his music and I’ve always wanted to go and take the tour, but I felt silly going alone.”
“Then we’ll go to Graceland,” he said before kissing her forehead.
“Just like that? No... planning? No making calls? Just... we’re going?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Her mouth opened and shut several times before she frowned. “That almost seems too easy.”
“It’s not like we’re looking for a private tour or any kind of preferential treatment. It’s just a matter of us getting there and having a place to stay. No big deal.” He kissed her again. “Where else?”
“Where else?”
He nodded. “I’m guessing that Graceland wasn’t the only place you wanted to see. What’s next on your list?”
“Mick...”
“Sienna...” he mimicked.
“O-kay...um...the Grand Canyon.”
“Done.”
Her brows furrowed as she thought for a moment. “The Vegas Strip.”
“Done.”
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
“Done.” Kissing the tip of her nose, he added, “And then we can stay at my place in Malibu for a few days. Unless we have time to see more. Are there any other places you’d like to see?”
“This is ridiculous!” she said with exasperation. Sitting up, she clutched the blanket to her chest. “We can’t possibly do all of that in two weeks! It’s too much! And we’d have to work out airline tickets and plan out all the logistics and...it just can’t be done!”
“Agree to disagree,” he said casually. “If you’re not up for it...”
Her eyes narrowed slightly at the challenge. “Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco,” she blurted out. “And Alcatraz.”
“Naturally. You can’t do San Francisco without going to Alcatraz,” he teased. “Anything else?”
“Disneyland.” Her expression turned a little smug. “But I don’t see how you’re going to make all of that happen in two weeks. It’s not possible. I don’t care how great you think you are with booking tours for your rock stars, this isn’t the same thing. You don’t book tours on a whim. You know all that planning takes time, so...while I appreciate the way you’re encouraging me to do some fun things, we both know it’s never going to happen.”
Rolling toward her again, he couldn’t help but grin as he tugged her back down beside him. “That sounds like a challenge, my sweet Sienna.”
“Does it?”
“Definitely. And there’s something you should know about me,” he said gruffly, as he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her throat before moving down to nuzzle her magnificent breasts.
“O... oh?” she panted.
“I love a challenge,” he said before teasing one nipple as he maneuvered them into a more comfortable position. “Practically thrive on them.”
“Rea... really?”
God, how he loved making her squirm like this.
“Yeah. Really.” Slowly, he rolled her beneath him and settled between her thighs and it felt like heaven. “Challenge accepted, Sienna. What do I get if I make it all happen?”
Her eyes went wide as he began to move against her. With a throaty moan, her back arched. “Anything you want...”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” he whispered before claiming her lips with his.
She wrapped those silky limbs around him, lifting her hips in silent invitation.
One that he readily accepted.
Sex was something Mick always found enjoyable, but he’d never felt a connection like the one he and Sienna had right now. It seemed to heighten all his senses and everything just felt like...more.
Her nails scoring down his back felt amazing.
The feel of her legs wrapped around him was incredible.
And the taste of her—every single inch of her—was decadent.
She was essentially giving him two weeks, and he already knew it wasn’t going to be enough. He’d waited a lifetime for this woman and now that he finally had her—and not just here, naked in his bed—but back in his life, he knew he wasn’t going to want to let her go.
“Mick,” she panted when he broke the kiss. “I need...I want...”
“Tell me,” he said with a rough growl as he entered her. “Tell me.”